Famous places within 5 minutes walk of my house Number 10 - the River Lea (or Lee)
The RiverLea flows through Bow, tracing a path 58 miles from its source at Leagrave (near Luton) to join the Thames at Canning Town, just south of here. The river is navigable for much of its length, and has been for many centuries. It's still debatable whether the correct modern spelling is Lea or Lee, although the historic spelling is in fact Ley. The river used to form the boundary between Middlesex and Essex, until the Essex county boundary was shifted much further out past Upminster in 1963. I spent six months too many of my life living in Essex, and it's unnerving to discover that I still live less than 5 minutes walk away from the place, historically at least.
In the late 9th century the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle tells how an invading Danish fleet sailed up the river Lea to make camp at Ware near Hertford, then a more important town than London. King Alfred the Great is said to have responded by building weirs and embankments on the river to lower the water-level, so stranding the Danish fleet upstream.
The Lower Lea Valley gradually became heavily industrialised, the river providing a plentiful supply of energy and a useful means of transport. By 1588 large barges capable of carrying five tons were navigating the Lea, transporting local grain and beer upriver from Bow Bridge to Ware in just twelve hours. In the 18th and 19th centuries Bow's traditional mills and breweries were slowly replaced by messier, smellier industries such as soap-making, lime-burning and the odd distillery. Most famous of all was the BowPorcelainfactory, established in the late 1740s, which replicated the popular Chinese crockery of the day using bone ash from local knackers yards.
As the local marshes were drained, so the BowBack Rivers were formed, a complex set of waterways linking the upper river to its tidal estuary at Bow Creek. These river channels have been restored by dredging and landscaping over the last decade, and the area is now part of the Lee Valley Park, Britain's first ever Regional Park and a haven for wildlife. Bow is also the final destination of the Lea Valley Walk, one of the most varied walking routes in the London area. Major plans are now afoot to completely transform the Lower Lea Valley as the focus of London's 2012 Olympicbid, complete with sports stadia and athletes' village. Welcome though this urban regeneration will be, now is probably your last chance to spot a kingfisher down by Bow Bridge, before the property sharks move in.
Famous places within 5 minutes walk of my house
The River Lea flows through Bow, tracing a path 58 miles from its source at Leagrave (near Luton) to join the Thames at Canning Town, just south of here. The river is navigable for much of its length, and has been for many centuries. It's still debatable whether the correct modern spelling is Lea or Lee, although the historic spelling is in fact Ley. The river used to form the boundary between Middlesex and Essex, until the Essex county boundary was shifted much further out past Upminster in 1963. I spent six months too many of my life living in Essex, and it's unnerving to discover that I still live less than 5 minutes walk away from the place, historically at least.
